N62645-16-R-0025-P0001.docx

N62645-16-R-0025

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION SF 30 - BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

The following have been added by full text:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION: I just wanted to ask if there is an incumbent contract or contractor associated to the requirement. If any, please provide the contractor's name and contract number.

ANSWER: The incumbent contractor is HealthWest, LLC. The contract number is N62645-12-D-5025.

QUESTION: The technical proposal (Volume I) is permitted to have only 30 pages. However, the solicitation also requests CVs. Most of the personnel proposed for this solicitation will have CVs that range from 15-20 pages each, which makes complying with the solicitation requirement impossible. In the last solicitation for this contract, DOD accepted submission of a separate addendum to Volume I with the longer CVs. If permitted again, our proposal could provide short professional bios of all of our proposed inspectors in the technical proposal and still meet the page limitations.

ANSWER: An addendum to Volume I will be permitted.

QUESTION: Could you provide clarification of your expectations for Volume III, the Small Business Participation Plan? What would be required for a small business with no direct or indirect relation to a large business? Is there a template for a pure small business to use?

ANSWER: According to Section 4.1 of the Addendum to 52.212-1, " All offerors are required to submit a small business participation plan." Subcontracting plans are not required if the offeror qualifies as a small business under the applicable NAICS code 541618 (business size standard of $15 M). If the offeror (applies to small and large businesses) believes there are no subcontracting possibilities, the offeror shall submit documentation sufficient to support its position. No samples are available for the subcontracting plan or small business participation plan.

QUESTION: Where do you want to see our reference to our updated electronically completed SAM representations and certifications and a completed paragraph (b)? See page 72 out of 126.

ANSWER: Per the instructions in FAR 52.212-3, only paragraph (b) needs to be completed if the reps and certs in SAM have been completed. Please copy paragraph (b) and include it in your Volume IV: Price, per the instructions found in ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1.

QUESTION: There is an inconsistent description in the solicitation of how many inspectors are the maximum for the offeror to propose. Both 12 and 18 inspectors are mentioned. See Sections 1.2.3 of the Evaluation Criteria (page 70 of 126) and 8.1.1 and 6.1.1 of the PWS (pages 34 of 126 and 36 of 126, respectively). What is the maximum limitation on the number of inspectors?

ANSWER: The Evaluation Criteria (1.2.3 page 71 of 127) has been changed to read a maximum of eighteen (18) qualified inspectors.

SECTION SF 1449 - CONTINUATION SHEET

The following have been modified:

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1

In addition to the guidance included in FAR Provision 52.212-1 entitled “Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items,” the following are applicable for the preparation and submission of proposals.

Proposal Content and Instructions for Preparation of Proposals.

1. Instructions for preparation of proposals. This section specifies the format and content that offerors shall use in this Request for Proposal (RFP). The proposal shall be in the form prescribed by, and shall contain a response to, each of the areas identified in the Addendum to 52.212-1. Proposals shall be in the form prescribed by, and shall contain a response to, each of the areas identified in Addendum to 52.212-1 “Proposal Content and Instructions for Preparation of Proposals”. Any proposal that does not provide, as a minimum, that which is required in this solicitation may be determined to be substantially incomplete and not warrant any further consideration.

1.1. The proposal shall be submitted in four volumes:

1. Volume I*- Technical

1. Volume II* – Past Performance

1. Volume III*- Small Business Participation Plan

1. Volume IV – Price including the complete RFP package.

*No pricing information shall be included in Volumes I, II or III.

A complete Volume I – Technical Approach, Volume II – Past Performance, Volume III- Small Business Participation Plan and Volume IV – Price shall be submitted by the closing date specified in this solicitation. If any one proposal volume is received past the stated closing date specified in this solicitation, the entire proposal will be considered late. The Government can determine that late proposals will be given no further consideration.

2. Volume 1: Technical:

2.1. Performance Capabilities: The offeror shall include a detailed description of the offeror’s ability to meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). This may include a description of work performed in previous and current contracts demonstrating relevance to the requirements of the PWS. Offeror shall demonstrate compliance to the PWS.

2.2. Management Plan: The offeror shall discuss their strategy to ensure that qualified inspectors will be available to perform services as described herein. (For example: inspections and/or consultations may be scheduled to occur simultaneously, requiring the contractor to provide services in different geographical locations at the same time.) The offeror shall also submit a description of their proposed format for the Quality Assurance Report (to include a sample report) to ensure that all requirements of the solicitation are met.

2.3. Individual Credentials Documentation for Proposed Key Contractor Personnel: The offeror shall only submit credentials documentation for those key personnel that the contractor intends to utilize to meet requirements herein. The offeror shall submit credentials documentation showing compliance for a minimum of eight (8) and a maximum of twelve (12) inspectors, all of whom meet the minimum qualification requirements as stated in Section C – Performance Work Statement (PWS) paragraphs 8.2.1.1., 8.2.1.2., and 8.2.1.3. Documentation shall provide evidence that the proposed personnel meet the requirements in C-8.2.1.1., 8.2.1.2., and 8.2.1.3. Credential documentation shall also include curriculum vitae (CV) and a biography. The CV shall include at a minimum education, experience, and qualifications and highlight experience obtained as forensic laboratory inspectors (experiential events in conducting laboratory inspections). The offeror shall indicate if inspector is proposed as a lead or secondary inspector.

Page limit for Volume I – Technical Approach Proposal: not to exceed thirty pages 30 pages (excluding a Cover Sheet, Table of Contents and CVs). An addendum for the CVs is permitted.

3. Volume II: Past Performance:

Past Performance Proposals shall not include any pricing information. In accordance with file submission requirements given in this section, the offeror shall submit the following:

3.1. The offeror shall describe its past performance on up to three (3) contracts it has held within the last three years that are for the same or similar services to that which is detailed in this solicitation or affirmatively state the offeror possesses no relevant past performance directly related to or similar past performance. Offerors who present similar contracts shall provide a detailed explanation demonstrating the relevance of the contracts to the requirements of the solicitation.

3.2 The offeror shall fill out a Past Performance Reference Sheet (Attachment 7) for each of the three submitted past performance references.

3.3. The Government reserves the right to consider other past performance information at its disposal, in addition to any information obtained from the references provided above. The Government will attempt to contact the POC for every Past Performance reference that is determined to be relevant (based solely on review of the information provided on the reference sheet).

Page limit for Volume II – Past Performance Proposal: not to exceed three (6) pages (a maximum of two pages per past performance reference) (excluding a Cover Sheet and Table of Contents)

4. Volume III: Small Business Participation Plan

4.1. All offerors are required to submit a small business participation plan. Subcontractor consents may be an appendix to the small business participation plan.

4.2. Small Business Subcontracting Plan:

If applicable (for other than small business concern offerors under the assigned NAICS code herein), the offeror shall submit a subcontracting plan in accordance with FAR Clause 52.219-9 ALT II DEV and DFARS Clause 252.219-7003 DEV. The subcontracting plan requirement is not applicable to small business concerns qualified as such under the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation. Master subcontracting plans can be included as an appendix to the subcontracting plan.

The Contracting officer will review the subcontracting plan for acceptability. If an offeror fails to negotiate a subcontracting plan acceptable to the Contracting Officer within the time limit prescribed by the Contracting Officer, the offeror will be ineligible for award.

**If the offeror believes there are no subcontracting possibilities, the offeror shall submit documentation sufficient to support its position.

4.3. Page limit for Volume III: There is NO page limit for Volume II. A page is defined as size 8.5 inch by 11 inch with one (1) inch margins all around, Times New Roman font of not less than ten (10) point font size.

5. Volume IV: Price: In accordance with file submission requirements given in this section, the offeror shall submit the following:

5.1. Offeror shall propose a unit price for each CLIN, total price per CLIN and total price (including all CLINs and Option CLINs). Offeror shall provide pricing within the CLINs. There shall be no other additional pricing included.

5.2. Offerors shall provide the Federal Supply Schedule number, if the equipment is on FSS or state that the equipment is Open Market.

5.3. Offeror shall provide:

1. Complete company name and address:

1. Company Point of Contact:

1. Phone number:

1. Fax number:

1. Tax Identification Number (TIN):

1. CAGE Code:

1. DUNS number:

5.4. The offeror shall complete and submit FAR Provisions 52.209-11, 52.209-7 and 52.212-3 ALT 1.

5.5. The offeror shall acknowledge the solicitation and all solicitation amendments issued before the solicitation closes.

6. Proposal Submission.

6.1. Proposals shall be submitted electronically through the AMRDEC SAFE website no later than the proposal due date for this RFQ.

6.2. The proposal due date is 10:00 AM Local Time on 29 July 2016.

6.3. All proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be submitted electronically via the AMRDEC SAFE website. No paper copies or electronic copies submitted outside of the SAFE website (i.e., emailed directly to the NMLC POC or other NMLC email inbox) will be accepted.

6.4. Submitting your proposal:

The AMRDEC SAFE application is used to send large files to individuals which would normally be too large to send via email. There are no user accounts for SAFE - authentication is handled via email and Common Access Card (CAC). The application is available for use by offerors.

The AMRDEC SAFE application can be accessed via https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/safe.

Offerors shall proceed as “Non- CAC Users” under all circumstances.

After selecting the “Non- CAC Users” option above, the page will be redirected to the package upload form. Fill in all the required input fields (field names are in italics):

Personal Information:

Your Name - Your name, Your Company Name.

Your Email address - Your email address.

Confirm Your Email Address - Re-enter your email address.

File Information:

Description of File(s) - Enter a description for the package that includes the solicitation number;

File(s) - Click the "Browse" button to select your file(s). You may add up to 25 files per package, so long as the total file size does not exceed 2GB. The total file size is the combined file size of all submitted files.

Deletion Date – Leave this date at the default setting of two weeks (14 days) from the submission date.

Recipient Information:

Manually Enter Email Address’: amanda.e.rutten.civ@mail.mil and thomas.l.hood26.civ@mail.mil and hit the add button. (To remove a recipient, highlight their name and click the "Remove" button.)

Email Settings:

Check all four of the boxes:

- Require CAC for Pick-up (all recipients will need to log in with a CAC to download file(s).

To the right of “Email Settings” is a nondescript box with two options (None or FOUO). Select the FOUO option and select “sensitive” from the dropdown menu below.

Review all fields for accuracy and hit the ‘submit” button. Clicking the "Submit" button will upload the files and submit the package. Guest users will need to check their email to verify their email address before the recipients will be notified. After the package has been uploaded, the Government will receive a link to the package download page as well as a password. These passwords are unique for each recipient (not the package), and will be disabled once SAFE detects that the user successfully downloaded each file within the package.

Once the offeror has submitted their proposal, they shall send a confirmation email to amanda.e.rutten.civ@mail.mil and Thomas.L.Hood26.civ@mail.mil and provide their company name and contact information as well stating that they have submitted a complete proposal to SAFE in response to ‘N62645-16-R-0025.’ Submission of proposals is a onetime affair (unless in unusual circumstances multiple SAFE submissions are required because an offeror exceeded the 25 file limit per SAFE submission.).

The estimated award date is 30 July 2016.

Offers shall be valid for a period of 90-days.

7. Questions. Questions shall be referred to:

Naval Medical Logistics Command Email: amanda.e.rutten.civ@mail.mil l and thomas.l.hood26.civ@mail.mil (subject: N62645-16-R-0025 Screening Analyzer Maintenance)

If an offeror submits a question and does not receive a response to the question from Naval Medical Logistics Command within 72 hours of the time of submission, the question shall be resubmitted. Offerors must submit questions by 14 June 2016, 10:00 am local time. NMLC will only accept one submission of questions per offeror.

8. Discussions: The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a single contract without discussions with offerors. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary.

(a) The Government will award a single contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Approach, Past Performance, Small Business Participation Plan, and Price.

This is a best value source selection conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 and Part 13.5, as supplemented by other parts of the FAR and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and the Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NMCARS). The Government will select the best overall offer, based upon an integrated assessment of Technical Approach, Past Performance, and Price. As part of making the assessment, a best value analysis will be performed determining whether or not exceeding the minimum requirements at an associated price provides the best value to the Government.

As a basis for award, trade-offs between price and non-price factors are permitted. Therefore, the Government reserves the right to award a contract to other than the lowest proposed price or other than the highest technically rated proposal. However, the closer the merits of the Technical Approach and Past Performance proposals are to one another, the greater importance of Price in making the award determination.

The Technical Approach shall be rated by their content only and the Government will not assume that performance will include areas not addressed. The Government will evaluate proposed prices for reasonableness using price analysis techniques. Proposed prices evaluated as unreasonable may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition.

52.212-2 EVALUATION--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

1.1. Evaluation Criteria

The proposals will be evaluated under four evaluation factors: Technical Approach, Past Performance, Small Business Participation Plan and Price.

Factor A: Technical Approach Factor B: Past Performance Factor C: Small Business Participation Plan Factor D: Price

Relative Importance of Factors. The relative importance of each factor is as follows:

Technical Approach is significantly more important than Past Performance. Past Performance is significantly more important than Small Business Participation Plan. Small Business Participation Plan is significantly more important than Price. Technical Approach, Past Performance and Small Business Participation Plan, when combined, are significantly more important than price.

1.2. Factor A – Technical Approach:

1.2.1. Performance Capabilities: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s ability to meet requirements of the PWS.

1.2.2. Management Plan: The government will evaluate the offeror’s strategy to ensure that qualified inspectors will be available to perform services as described herein. (For example: inspections and/or consultations may be scheduled to occur simultaneously, requiring the contractor to provide services in different geographical locations at the same time.) The government will evaluate the Quality Assurance Report (to include a sample report) to ensure that requirements of the solicitation are met.

1.2.3. Individual Credentials Documentation for Proposed Key Contractor Personnel Only: The government will evaluate the offeror’s ability to meet requirements of the PWS paragraphs 8.2.1.1., 8.2.1.2., and 8.2.1.3.

The minimum requirement is for four (4) Lead Inspectors who have three (3) or more experiential events in conducting laboratory inspections and four (4) Secondary Inspectors who have one (1) or more experiential events in conducting laboratory inspections and who meet the requirements listed in the PWS. A minimum of eight (8) and a maximum of eighteen (18) qualified inspectors is required.

Favorable consideration will be given to the contractor who has the submitted the greatest number of Lead Inspectors.

1.3. Factor B – Past Performance:

The Government will evaluate two aspects of the offeror’s past performance. The first aspect evaluated is the relevancy of the offerors submitted past performance references and questionnaires. Relevancy is rated on a “Relevant” or “Not Relevant” basis. The relevancy rating is based on the similarity of scope, magnitude of effort, and complexity of the offeror’s past performance as compared to the requirement being procured under this solicitation. Performance outside of the past three years will not be evaluated for relevancy.

The Government will rate the relevancy rating of the offeror-provided past performance references based solely on the information provided in the past performance reference sheet and information available to the Government through sources such as Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) ratings, and Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) ratings. The Government will not contact any POCs to gather information that was not provided on the Past Performance reference sheet to make the relevancy determination. For this reason it is imperative that the offeror provides sufficient information on the Past Performance Reference sheet to allow the Government to make a relevancy determination. Past Performance references found to be “Not Relevant” will not be evaluated under the second evaluation aspect listed herein.

For all past performance references provided by the offeror that are determined to be relevant, the Government will make three attempts to contact the reference POC. The first attempt will be made via email and the second two attempts will be made via phone. If after three attempts, the Government cannot contact the reference, the reference will not be evaluated any further and will not be included in the performance confidence assessment.

The second aspect evaluated is the performance confidence assessment of the offerors submitted past performance references and questionnaires. The performance confidence assessment determines how well the offeror performed on the relevant contracts. This includes the degree to which the offeror has satisfied past and present customers in terms of meeting work schedules, providing specified services, meeting contract terms without failure (or resolving issues immediately), cooperation, timeliness, and cost control. Offerors will receive one overall rating for Past Performance and this rating is the performance confidence assessment. For an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information about past performance is not available, the offeror will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance but instead will receive a rating of “Unknown Confidence (Neutral)” under the performance confidence assessment (FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv)).

The Government reserves the right to obtain information for use in the evaluation of past performance from any and all sources including Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) ratings, Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) ratings, and sources outside the Government, regardless of whether such information has been provided by the offeror. The Government will only use past performance information found through these other sources only if it determines that past performance to be “Relevant.” The Government also reserves the right to contact references and points of contact provided by the offeror and otherwise verify statements and representations made in the offeror’s proposal. Should this information be sufficient to negatively impact the offeror's chance of being awarded a contract under this solicitation, the Government will provide this negative information to the offeror and provide an opportunity for rebuttal, explanation, or clarification. The opportunity for rebuttal, explanation, or clarification will not be provided where the offeror has already had the opportunity to comment on negative past performance information, such as with finalized CPARS evaluation reports. Such Relevant past performance found from other sources will be considered as part of the Government’s performance confidence assessment of the offerors.

1.4. Factor C – Small Business Participation Plan:

All offerors will be evaluated on the level of small business commitment that they are demonstrating for the proposed acquisition, and their level of commitment to utilizing small businesses in performance of prior contracts. The small business participation plan factor will be evaluated on an “Acceptable (Pass)” or “Unacceptable (Fail)” basis and one of these ratings will be assigned accordingly. The following shall evidence small business participation:

a. The extent to which such firms, as defined in FAR Part 19, are specifically identified in proposals;

b. The extent of commitment to use such firms (enforceable commitments will be weighted more heavily than non-enforceable ones);

c. The complexity and variety of the work small firms are to perform;

d. The realism of the proposal;

e. Past performance of the offeror in complying with requirements of the clauses at FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns, and, for all large business offerors, FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan;

f. The extent of participation of such firms in terms of the value of the total acquisition;

g. The extent to which the offeror provides detailed explanations/documentation supporting the proposed participation percentages, or lack thereof.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has established small business goals as an assistance to assure small business receives a fair proportion of DOD awards. The goals for this procurement are as follows:

Small Business :{36.7%} of the total *contract value;

Small Disadvantaged Business: {5.0%} of the total contract value;

Woman-Owned Small Business: {5.0%} of the total contract value;

Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business: {3.0%} of the total contract value;

Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business: {3.0 %} of the total contract value.

(Note, for example, that a participation plan that reflects {4.0%} of the contract value for Woman-Owned Small Business would also count towards the overall Small Business Goal).

*The Government recognizes that these goals are stated as a percentage of the total contract value for the small business participation plan; whereas, the goals included in the subcontracting plan (FAR Clause 52.219-9) are stated in terms of a percentage of total subcontract dollars.

1.5. Factor D – Price:

Price will not be scored or rated. Evaluation of price will be performed using one or more of the price analysis techniques in FAR 15.404. Through these techniques the Government will determine whether prices are reasonable. Inasmuch as the best value offer will be determined through tradeoff analysis, the Government is not bound to award to the lowest evaluated price. On the other hand, if the Government determines that a higher rated proposal offers value-added features but at an unreasonable/unjustifiable incremental amount, it is not bound to award to a higher technically rated proposal.

1.5.1. Completeness: The offeror has submitted the following:

1.5.1.1. Unit price for each CLIN, total price per CLIN, and total price (including all CLINs and Options CLINs).

1.5.1.2. Federal Supply Schedule number, if the services are on FSS, or state that the services are Open Market.

1.5.1.3. Complete company name and address, company point of contact, phone number, fax number, Tax Identification Number (TIN), CAGE Code, and DUNS number.

1.5.1.4. Completed all required representations and certifications.

1.5.1.5. Acknowledgement of the solicitation and all solicitation amendments issued before the solicitation closes.

1.5.2. Reasonableness: The Government's determination that the proposed price is fair and reasonable will be based on price analysis.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

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